Was that merely a slight slight stumble at SuperGroup or a sign that the fashion wunderkind is running out of puff? Impossible to know, of course, but 22% off the Superdry firm's share price looks a reasonable reaction to news that quarterly sales growth has slowed from 89% to 61%.

It's still an astonishing rate, it must be said. And one of the founder Julian Dunkerton's explanations sounded perfectly reasonable: the lumpy phasing of the opening of new shops. But it is odd to hear a company famed for its T-shirts grumbling about the early arrival of sunny weather. "We had too many hoods and jackets out and not enough flip-flops and shorts," said Dunkerton. Hmm.

The company clearly has a long way to grow, and backers will be reassured to learn that pre-tax profits for the financial year just passed will fall within City forecasts of £48.5m-£51m. But a £1bn valuation, even after the fall, is a princely price for a brand whose staying power is harder to forecast than next year's weather.

Last year's float at 500p can now be seen as a bargain; but £12.23 is up with events, as brokers say. Next, a useful if imperfect yardstick for valuing clothing retailers, is worth £4bn. It requires a lot of faith to believe SuperGroup is worth one quarter of Next already.